I thank the Deputy for the question. It is a central priority for me, as Minister for State, that Ireland’s immigration system is firm, fair and effective. Returning people who do not have permission to remain in Ireland is undertaken through both voluntary returns and deportation. Both types of returns are essential for the system to work effectively and ensure confidence in the application of our legislation in this area. My Department has a voluntary return programme to assist people to return prior to the issuance of a deportation order. It is important to note that a person can avail of voluntary return only before a deportation order is issued. A person who intends to avail of voluntary return can arrange their return independently or be assisted with travel costs, financial aid and administrative support by the voluntary return unit in my Department, or through my Department’s partner, the UN’s International Organization for Migration. The option of voluntary return is not offered to those convicted of serious criminality. If a person receives a final negative decision on their international protection application, they are informed of the option of voluntary return and have five days to indicate whether they wish to avail of it. If a person decides not to avail of a voluntary return within this period, a deportation order is made against them. People who make their own arrangements are given 30 days to leave. They are required to provide officials with documentary evidence that they have left within three days of their arrival in their home country. This can include evidence of flight tickets, boarding passes, the bio-data page of their passports and the re-entry stamp in their passport with the passport number clearly shown. People who require assistance to leave Ireland will have the necessary arrangements made by the voluntary returns unit. This may include obtaining travel documents, flight bookings and ground transport. People who receive assistance must provide evidence of their return. Further information and evidence will be requested if the supporting documentation submitted is not sufficient to confirm the person has left the State. People who do not submit the required documentation within the timeframe are advised that their cases will result in the issuing of a deportation order. In many instances, those availing of voluntary return will be met by officials from the border management unit of my Department. In 2024, 934 people left Ireland by way of voluntary return. This year up to 27 June, 808 people have left Ireland by way of voluntary return, which is an increase of 223% by comparison with the number in the same period in 2024. Six hundred and fifteen of these were refused international protection status. Since 2020, over 2,300 people have left Ireland under the programme.
Sentiment score: 0.13
To clarify, if a person has left voluntarily, he or she must provide, on foot of a request, officials with documentary evidence within three days that they have left Ireland. If they do not do so, a deportation order can be issued. Of the 808 people who left by way of voluntary return this year up to 27 June, 615 had been refused international protection status. Since 2020, 2,300 people have left Ireland under the programme. Of these, just over 1,600 had been refused international protection status. In these instances, the departures of the people in question have been confirmed. We have a clear indication from right across Europe that, in many instances, people who avail of the voluntary return programme do not return.
Sentiment score: -0.03
The Deputy will be aware that we do not have an exit system for leaving our country. The reason is that there are various circumstances concerning how we manage people coming and going, particularly with the common travel area. We believe, based on clear indications, that the vast majority of people served with a deportation order do actually leave the country. The indication is that people who are served with a deportation order choose to leave. They leave voluntarily. The exact tracking of that, which would require a system of having an actual process of registering the exit out of the country, is something that is very difficult to implement within a common travel area. It would put a very onerous burden on people moving across the Border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. For that reason, while we have clear indications that the vast majority of people do leave when served with a deportation order, we do not have the exact number of all those who have left, having been served with one.
Sentiment score: -0.03